Topology Maintenance in Asynchronous Sensor Networks

In most sensor networks the nodes are static. Nevertheless, the node connectivity is subject to changes because of disruptions in wireless connectivity, transmission power changes, or loss of synchronization between neighboring nodes. Hence, even after a sensor is aware of its immediate neighbors, it must continuously maintain its view, a process we call topology maintenance. This work is the first to distinguish between neighbor discovery during sensor network initialization and topology maintenance. Whereas many works focus on the former task, we focus on the latter. We view topology maintenance as a joint task of all the connected sensors. Each sensor employs a simple protocol in a coordinate effort to reduce power consumption without increasing the time required to detect hidden sensors.